The Emerging Role of Biotechnology in the Classroom
... In 2011 the American Society of Human Genetics found that high school students received inadequate genetics education in 43 of 50 states and that adequate genetics education was provided in only North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, and Washington (Dougherty et al., 2011). Innovative approaches to education may improve student and public understanding and awareness of the applications of genetic and genomic technologies (Childs et al., 1981;Mascarenhas, 1994;McInerney, 1995;Shmaefsky, 1998;Hott et al., 2002;Wood, 2009). The integration of personalized DNA testing into the classroom may increase student awareness of the ethical, legal, social, and scientific implications of DNA testing and the information alone may have value to students, but additional research is needed to confirm this and to better understand the perspectives of various stakeholders. ...
Discourse on the integration of personal genetics and genomics into classrooms is increasing; however, limited data have been collected on the perspectives of students and professors. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate and graduate students as well as professors at two major universities to assess attitudes regarding the use of personal DNA testing and other personalized activities in college classrooms. Students indicated that they were more likely to enroll (60.2%) in a genetics course if it offered personal DNA testing; undergraduate students were more likely than graduate students to enroll if personal DNA testing was offered (p=0.029). Students who majored in the physical sciences were less likely to enroll than students in the biological or social sciences (p=0.019). Students also indicated that when course material is personalized, the course is more interesting (94.6%) and the material is easier to learn (87.3%). Professors agreed that adding a personalized element increases student interest, participation, and learning (86.0%, 82.6%, and 72.6%, respectively). The results of this study indicate that, overall, students and professors had a favorable view of the integration of personalized information, including personal DNA testing, into classroom activities, and students welcomed more opportunities to participate in personalized activities.
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